


The Running Man

by Mhoram



Category: Original Work
Genre: Angst, Bisexual Male Character, Boys Kissing, Fiction, Gay, Gen, Heterosexuality, Humor, LGBT, M/M, Male Friendship, Male Slash, MxM - Freeform, Original Fiction, Pranks and Practical Jokes, Romance, Slash, Track & Field, Unrequited Love, boyonboy - Freeform, gays, puking
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-11-25
Updated: 2015-11-25
Packaged: 2018-05-03 08:59:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 13,509
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5284715
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mhoram/pseuds/Mhoram
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It all started with a guy, Jack Holder. Someone who Seth Braun had absolutely no chance. Gorgeous, star athlete and not to mention straight with a steady girlfriend. Despite all this Seth finds himself drawn to Jack in ways he could neither anticipate nor deny.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Fresh Start

His foot slipped and he started to fall, he caught himself before he hit the ground, then he kept moving. His breath came in shuddering gasps, his limbs trembled. He felt like he was going to throw up, the contents of his stomach were churning. He fell to the ground again, before starting to run again. He cursed himself, he was sweating all over. He didn't think he could make it; he stared ahead at the rest of the pack who were way ahead of him. 

He knew that they would overtake him soon, this was his first track practice and he was failing . The rest of the pack caught up with him, as they passed by him. He caught a glimpse of his reason for wanting to join the team in the first place. Gorgeous and with eyes as blue as the sea, Jack Holder slowed down enough to match his pace.

Groaning , he turned to face him.

 "Hey, are you alright?” Jack asked with a broad grin. “I hope it’s not too much for you.”

He sighed again “Nope, I’m fine peachy keen.”

Jack nodded and said “One more lap, Seth”

As he struggled to keep going, he was glad this was the last one. They rounded a corner, one more stretch and they would make it to where the other runners on the team were stretching. This was just the warm up, he thought . This is mild; it all goes down from here, as they crossed the end line. Seth fell down to his knees, breathing hard. He couldn’t get enough air into his lungs; everything felt like it was spinning all at once. He caught himself before he fell onto the track. His hands braced on the ground. 

He looked up and noticed that a few of his teammates were staring at him. Across the field even some of the football players were watching him. Panting he got to his feet, the coach came over to him and looked him over. “Are you alright son?” he said with genuine concern.

Seth nodded and went to where his teammates were as they started today’s practice. The whole time, Jack would  check up on him to make sure he was alright and then go back to his sprints. Seth knew he was a crappy runner; he was always short of breath.  He tripped and fell too many times. There were also many times were he felt like he was going to blow chucks everywhere. By the time it was over, he was grateful. Jack ran up next to him, he could never act right around him.

He  looked down to avoid getting lost in his bright blue eyes; he had never seen eyes like his before. “You did pretty well today.” Jack said.

He shook his head but said nothing; he was too tired say anything so he said nothing and focused on making his way to the locker room. When he reached the door, he stepped inside. As soon as he crossed the threshold, he opened his mouth and puked his guts out. 

 


	2. Friends

All eyes were on him, he didn't know if he could handle the stares. He was shaking all over, covered in his own vomit. Laughter rang out from the locker room; they were all laughing at him. Jack was staring at him for minute before breaking out into a big grin. “It happens to the best of us man, pretty impressive though I haven’t seen that much puke in a while.” Jack led him by the hand towards the showers. He shrugged out of his puke stained clothes and went into the showers. After he felt clean enough he stepped out of the showers and changed into his regular clothes. He wasn't sure what to do about his practice clothes.

Jack came up to him and handed him some spare clothes, “This are my old ones, I hope they fit.”

        He accepted them and threw out his old ones. He remembered how he had first met Jack. It had been at lunch time. He had gotten into the habit of sitting by himself; he was more or less on his own most of the time. He had spent his time eating and looking at the table across from him. His blue eyes were alive, as he launched into a topic with reverent passion.

Jack rubbed his knuckles , “I think I hit the bag to hard. It’s hard to get good workout in the weight room sometimes.”

His friend Christian grinned “You’re just mad, because I can still run circles around your ass.”

Jack punched him on the shoulder “Yeah right, It only looked that you were ahead me, I’ll always be faster than you.”

         He decided that he would go over and sit with them. He was sure they wouldn't mind, or would they? He was senior like them, but they didn't know him. He got up and moved towards the table, at the last second he turned away towards the other end of the cafeteria to throw out his lunch.

        It had taken him weeks to gather the courage, to even attempt it again. He noticed that after a while they would look at him and then turn back to each other. When he got up and did a halfhearted attempt towards there table. He was halfway there when he decided to turn back, before he got to turn around. Christian called out to him, “Get your ass over here.”

He made his way towards the table, and sat across from them. The other boy had glared at him “If you want to sit here then do it already, quit fucking around.”

He swallowed hard, “Sorry” he muttered.

He smiled “That’s okay; I didn't mean to scare you.” He extended his hand and he shook it. “I’m Christian”

He nodded “Seth” he was still nervous, Christian’s friend was silent.

When Seth turned to face him, he smirked “So what brings you here? My friend and I were just talking about whether to come over and sit with you.”

         Seth mesmerized, he couldn't find anything to say, nothing close to coherent sentence. Enraptured by his stunning good looks. His hair was brown, with curls on the time of his head. His muscles showed through his shirt. 

        “I’m Jack” he said with a smile, Seth still couldn’t find an appropriate response. He opened his mouth to say something but before he could articulate the words, he heard a loud belch from nearby. He turned to see Christian with one hand covering the side of his mouth.

Christian smirked “Sorry, I’m such a fucking pig.”   

Seth attempted to ignore him but he noticed that Jack was grinning  "Nice one man!" he patted his friend on the back . 

Jack turned back to face Seth, "I'd like you to join us on the Track team, with enough time I’m sure you'd be an excellent runner."

Seth looked down at the table, he was nervous about this. He wasn't sure that he had the caliber, on the plus side he would spend more time with Jack as result. He shrugged "Why not?" 

Jack's grin widened, "I'll see you this weekend, there's tryouts on Saturday." 

        They both got up and walked off; Seth watched them with a secret longing. He had never shown interest in any sports but this might be an opportunity to get close to Jack. The thought of it excited him, then another thought occurred to him. 

He's straight, did you think about that dumb ass? 

        He pushed down the thought, he was sure that it was the case but it didn't bother him too much. He decided to put it out of his mind for now. After his last class, he ventured outside towards the track. It surrounded the football field it was wide and expensive. He watched as they ran around the circle. They didn't appear to tired out or even straining. Maybe because they had been running so long that it didn't matter or the stress didn't get to them. 

        He watched as Jack led along with Christian, but he spotted someone farther ahead. He couldn't make out his face but he seemed swift on his feet. He watched as they did laps and then went back to stretch. He was too tired. He turned away and decided to have a closer look. He sat on the bleachers and watched them practice. They all looked so focused and committed, the coach's yells echoed across the field.

After  practice he watched as they headed to the locker room.

 He spotted Jack among them talking with Christian, before he could reach them, he collided with someone. He felt some of the sweat on him as he fell back on the ground. The guy he bumped into looked down at him. "Who are you?"

 Seth struggled to his feet, "I just came to watch you guys practice, I was thinking of trying out." 

The boy smiled  "Well I'm a bomb technician, if you see me running try and keep up." he walked passed him towards the locker room. 

Seth looked at Jack, "Who's that?" 

Jack gave him a small smile "That's just Ryan, the fastest guy on the team and an all around douche. We all tolerate him only because he's so talented." 

He turned to him, "Hope to see you on Saturday" he ran off with Christian trailing behind him. 

         Seth arrived on Saturday, nervous as hell. He was shaking and sweating all over. He was out of his mind to even consider. He had spent Friday trying to prepare. He jogged a little now and again but this was a whole different story. He gripped the fence to steady himself; the air was cool on his skin. It calmed him somewhat; he was wearing shorts and long sleeved shirt. He was wearing a tracksuit that he had bought on Friday over it. He went towards the field were everyone else was already there warming up. 

He watched Jack and Christian, when they saw him they ran up to him and gave him high fives. He was staring at the ground. He was too afraid to even speak; he had known that if he attempted to get the words out he would end up vomiting. 

He gripped his hands and looked up to see Ryan stretching nearby. Ryan looked up at him, "It's not polite to stare....but I understand"

He smirked "I hope you’re ready, because I'm leaving you in the dust." He got up and walked off towards the track. 

Jack shrugged "Don't mind him, he's just full of shit. Just do your best, do it for yourself and no one else."

Seth nodded as he took his place, with the rest of the runners. He noticed they had all taken positions. He moved to do the same, "On your mark, get set..." 

        Seth looked around  noticing that no one was looking at him. "GO!" the coach yelled, it had all happened so fast that Seth had time to react. He looked around and saw that the rest of them had vanished. Panicking, he saw they were already way ahead of him. He started to run and stumbled a bit, he watched them as they got further and further away. He saw Ryan sprint ahead of the pack. He was already moving so fast, Seth struggled to match their speed but he ran out of breath.

        He was already breathing hard; his breaths came in short gasps now. He ran as fast as he possible could. When he finally reached the finish line, they were already waiting for him. The whole team was staring at him, as he made his way towards them. He knew he had done a shitty job, there was nothing worse then coming in last place. He hadn't done any sports until now, he was in his senior year and he sucked at his first tryout. 

No one paid attention to what happened, he was glad for it. Ryan nodded at him, "You did alright, better than I expected."

"To be fair I wasn't  paying attention to you.

 I was too busy being awesome, you'll get it next time sport" he patted Seth on the shoulder and walked off towards the other end of the field. 

Seth spotted the coach a short while away. "Braun get over here." he moved towards the other end of the field where the coach was waiting for him. 

"What is it coach." he said 

 "Well, you did pretty well for a first timer, but not good enough for the team. Do you understand?"

Tears welled up in his eyes, he had expected this. He wiped them away before the coach could see.

"I understand" he said with his voice as low as he could get it without giving away that he was on the verge of crying. 

"I'm going to let you on the team anyway, because I see potential in you Braun. Congratulations" He gave him a small smile. 

Seth still in shock wandered back towards the team. Jack stood nearby, his expression was sad. "I'm sorry man, you did your best."

Christian clapped him on the shoulder and nodded, "its okay, not everyone makes it the first time."

Seth broke out into a big grin, "I made the team." 

Jack and Christian exchanged surprised looks, and then they both swept him into a bone crushing hug. 

Seth struggled a bit before finally settling into their embrace, he had finally found his place. He wasn't going to let it go, no matter how much he went through. 

 


	3. Trouble

Seth walked into the locker room, dreading another practice. He still wasn't sure where he belonged when it came to the team. Jack was just about the only friend he had on the team. The only other person he knew was Christian. He wasn't even sure that counted, he looked up to find a guy standing nearby with a smirk on his face. He had a feeling that someone was bound to bring up his puking episode. He was confident that Jake would tell them to be silent about it but not everyone was so forgiving.

 

Ignoring him, Seth moved towards his locker and started to change. The rest of the team hadn't arrived yet and he wanted to get before anyone else. He pulled of his shirt revealing the skinny frame underneath.

 

The guy cocked and eyebrow, “When was the last time you ate?” he said in mock concern. Seth turned away from him. “Let me guess…you do all your clothes shopping at Baby Gap.”

 

Shrugging into his clothes, Seth went into his locker locked it. When he turned around, he saw the guy still staring at him. “I’m Finn by the way.”

 

Seth stared at Finn; he was attractive and well built. He couldn't believe he didn't notice him before. He had been too captivated by Jack to even notice any of the other guys.

 

He found him to be appealing, despite the fact that he had just  taken two jibes at his physical appearance.

 

He turned towards the door, and walked outside. He enjoyed the fresh air, just so long as he wasn't exerting himself.  He planned on taking it this time; he ran out onto the track and started to run. It felt good when there was not pressure on him;  he realized that he wasn't alone. He saw Finn running beside him. "What are you doing?" he asked.

 

Finn shrugged "I'm keeping pace with you, figured you need someone to run with you."

 

Seth nodded, he knew that he had to get better somehow; he found that if he kept to his own pace he could run without getting tired. A pain in his shins caused him to stop. Finn turned around and looked at him, stopping.

 

"What's wrong?" Finn asked, "Are you okay?"

 

Seth nodded again and he started to run but before he could move any further. Pain shot through his legs again and he fell to the ground. Gritting his teeth he tried to get up but he couldn't the pain was too extreme.

 

Finn turned around to face him again, "What's wrong, I know something's bothering you."

 

Seth sighed "It's my shins; it's like there on fire."

 

Finn smiled "Shin splints, it happens to the best of us. Just rest a bit and if you feel up to it, you can join us okay."

 

Seth nodded, he was the slowest runner and he knew it. He would never be as fast as Ryan or Finn for that matter. He was going to get thrown of the team; he would never get any better. He was the weakest link.

 

He sat on the bench and watched as the rest of his team mates exited the locker room and sprinted out onto the field.  Ryan jogged up to him and smiled, "Quitting already, I knew you didn't have what it takes, might as well give up now."

 

Sudden anger flared up in him, Seth stood up and glared Ryan. "What's your problem?" he said. "What did I ever do to you?"

 

Ryan stared back at him; the grin on his face was gone. He shrugged "Nothing, we just like messing with the new guy. Haven't you ever been on a sports team before?"

 

Seth shook his head; he had never bothered to even attempt to try out for any sport before now.

 

Ryan smiled at him "Stop being so damn sensitive, lighten up." He jogged away leaving Seth alone.

 

After a half hour or so, he got up and stretched. He watched as his team mates as they did their exercise. It amazed him at how effortless it seemed to them. He was still getting used to everything. Then again, they had been doing this so long it was almost effortless for them now.

 

He jogged up to rejoin them; he slipped in line with the rest of them. Doing his best to mimic their moves, after that they ran up and down the length of the football field.

 

Seth was one of the last to reach the end of the field. He was already breathing ; he staggered to the ground and then got to his feet. It seemed like the practice seemed to go on longer than usual. When practice was finally over, Seth collapsed on the ground breathing hard.

 

The sun was setting as he walked back to the locker room, every part of him ached. He stumbled to the ground a couple of times. Then he fell on the ground again, it was harder to get up this time. He lay there for a few moments before a pair of strong hands lifted him to his feet and began half carrying him towards the locker room.

 

He looked up and to his surprise he found, Jack holding him upright. Jack smiled down him, "Don't worry I won't drop you." When they reached the doorway, Jack placed him down near his locker. He made sure that Seth was standing upright before he let go.

 

Seth leaned against his locker, a little sad that Jack had let go of him. His legs were stiff with strain; he could walk on his own. He looked around the locker room, his teammates were getting dressed. Sweat clung to their faces, it was just starting to get cold, and the fall weather was sinking in. He wasn't in any kind of good shape, he was scrawny and weak. He tired out far too and he was about to pass out from severe exhaustion. I watched as Finn came up to him and handed him a water bottle.

 

He took it and drained it, after several gulps. He noticed that Finn was staring at him. "Do you need a ride or something? You look dead on your feet."

 

He panted and got to his feet, "I'll be alright." he said. Moments later, he fell onto the hard floor. Finn lifted him up and pitched him over his back.

 

"I'm taking you home." he said, Seth could only see down his back. He noticed all the other guys on the team staring at them as if they were the only two people in the world. He groaned with embarrassment, they would never let him live it down.

 

He was eighteen and still had yet to get his license, his mother or father usual picked him up from practice. When Finn finally put him down on the ground, he managed to stay on his feet. "I've got tell my mom that one of my friends is driving me home.

 

Finn nodded and got into his car, Seth noticed that it was a pretty slick design. An Audi RS4, He would wind up driving his mother's car around. He knew his mom would have a field day with him having a friend.

 

He hadn't had many friends; he had spent his time alone, or in the library. He spotted the jocks walking by from time to time but he was far too intimidated to even approach them.

 

He called his mother and waited for her answer, "Hi, mom." he said. "A friend is driving me home."

 

He heard his mother pause for a moment before speaking; her excitement was evident even through the phone.  "I'm so happy for your sweetie, come home safe and call me if you run into any trouble."

 

He said he would and then he hung up with a sigh. Finn looked at him. "My mom can get a little over enthusiastic about these things."

 

Smirking Finn got into the passage seat, Seth followed after him and got into the passenger.

 

As they drove off out of the parking lot towards the highway.

 

The next day Seth arrived at school, sore all over. He hadn't had a good night sleep and he wasn't looking forward to practice at all. The day went by at a slow pace; he was dreading practice, knowing he wouldn't even be able to keep up with anyone. When his last class finally ended, he made his way towards the locker room, when he arrived at the locker room, still groggy from sleep. He saw that most of the team was already dressed.

 

He  got dressed into his uniform; he hadn't even had time to eat breakfast. He had a big lunch; he had sat with Christian and Jack. His stomach was full to bursting; he didn't even think he could run at all. He was still shaking when Finn came up to him with a water bottle. He handed it to him.

 

Seth glanced down at it; he wasn't sure what to make of it.

 

"It'll make you feel better, I promise." Finn said with grin, "It's a protein shake."

 

Seth drank it down, he was thirsty.

 

After he had finished and wiped his mouth, he looked with surprise that Finn was laughing.  His hands clutched over his stomach as he leaned against the wall laughing.

 

Seth looked at him, what the hell? He thought. "What's so funny?" he asked.

 

Finn stopped laughing and got up, "I put laxatives in there, you’re going to have a shitty time." he grinned at him.

 

As Seth raced to the bathroom, he heard Finn's laughter behind him. He ran towards the stall and sat down. He felt his stomach churning, as he endured the most painful shit of his life.

 

Seth walked into the locker room, dreading another practice.

 

He still wasn't sure where he belonged when it came to the team. Jack was just about the only friend he had on the team.

 

The only other person he knew was Christian. He wasn't even sure that counted, he looked up to find a guy standing nearby with a smirk on his face.

 

He had a feeling that someone was bound to bring up his puking episode.

 

He was confident that Jake would tell them to be silent about it but not everyone was so forgiving.

 

Ignoring him, Seth moved towards his locker and started to change. The rest of the team hadn't arrived yet and he wanted to get before anyone else. He was self conscious, he wasn't  fit. He lifted up his shirt revealing the skinny frame underneath.

 

The guy cocked and eyebrow, “When was the last time you ate?” he said in mock concern. Seth turned away from him. “Let me guess…you do all your clothes shopping at Baby Gap.”

 

Shrugging into his clothes, Seth went into his locker locked it. When he turned around, he saw the guy still staring at him. “I’m Finn by the way.”

 

Seth stared at Finn; he was attractive and well built. He couldn't believe he didn't notice him before. He had been too captivated by Jack to even notice any of the other guys. He amazed by his physique, despite the fact that he had just taken two jibes at his physical appearance.

 

He turned towards the door, and walked outside. He enjoyed the fresh air, just so long as he wasn't exerting himself.  He planned on taking it this time; he ran out onto the track and started to run. It felt good when there was not pressure on him; he realized that he wasn't alone. He saw Finn running beside him. "What are you doing?" he asked.

 

Finn shrugged "I'm keeping pace with you, figured you need someone to run with you."

 

Seth nodded, he knew that he had to get better somehow; he found that if he kept to his own pace he could run without getting tired. a pain in his shins caused him to stop. Finn turned around and looked at him, stopping.

 

"What's wrong?" Finn asked, "Are you okay?"

 

Seth nodded again and he started to run but before he could move any further. Pain shot through his legs again and he fell to the ground. Gritting his teeth he tried to get up but he couldn't the pain was too extreme.

 

Finn turned around to face him again, "What's wrong, I know something's bothering you."

 

Seth sighed "It's my shins; it's like there on fire."

 

Finn smiled "Shin splints, it happens to the best of us. Just rest a bit and if you feel up to it, you can join us okay."

 

Seth nodded, he was the slowest runner and he knew it. He would never be as fast as Ryan or Finn for that matter. He was going to get thrown of the team; he would never get any better. He was the weakest link.

 

He sat on the bench and watched as the rest of his team mates exited the locker room and sprinted out onto the field.  Ryan jogged up to him and smiled, "Quitting already, I knew you didn't have what it takes, might as well give up now."

 

Sudden anger flared up in him, Seth stood up and glared Ryan. "What's your problem?" he said. "What did I ever do to you?"

 

Ryan stared back at him; the grin on his face was gone. He shrugged "Nothing, we just like messing with the new guy. Haven't you ever been on a sports team before?"

 

Seth shook his head; he had never bothered to even attempt to try out for any sport before now.

 

Ryan smiled at him "Stop being so damn sensitive, lighten up." He jogged away leaving Seth alone.

 

After a half hour or so, he got up and stretched. He watched as his team mates as they did their exercise. It was effortless it seemed for them. He was still getting used to everything. Then again, they had been doing this so long it was almost effortless for them now.

 

He jogged up to rejoin them; he slipped in line with the rest of them. Doing his best to mimic their moves, after that they ran up and down the length of the football field. Seth was one of the last to reach the end of the field. He was already breathing ; he staggered to the ground and then got to his feet . It seemed like the practice seemed to go on longer than usual. When practice was finally over, Seth collapsed on the ground breathing hard.

 

The sun was setting as he walked back to the locker room, every part of him ached. He stumbled to the ground a couple of times. Then he fell on the ground again, it was harder to get up this time. He lay there for a few moments before a pair of strong hands lifted him to his feet and began half carrying him towards the locker room.

 

He looked up and to his surprise he found, Jack holding him upright. Jack smiled down him, "Don't worry I won't drop you." When they reached the doorway, Jack placed him down near his locker. He made sure that Seth was standing upright before he let go.

 

Seth leaned against his locker, a little sad that Jack had let go of him.  His legs were stiff with strain; he could  walk on his own. He looked around the locker room, his teammates were getting dressed. Sweat clung to their faces, it was just starting to get cold, and the fall weather was sinking in. He wasn't in any kind of good shape, he was scrawny and weak. He tired out far too and he was about to pass out from severe exhaustion. I watched as Finn came up to him and handed him a water bottle.

 

He took it and drained it, after several gulps. He noticed that Finn was staring at him. "Do you need a ride or something? You look dead on your feet."

 

He panted and got to his feet, "I'll be alright." he said. Moments later, he fell onto the hard floor. Finn lifted him up and pitched him over his back.

 

"I'm taking you home." he said, Seth could only see down his back. He noticed all the other guys on the team staring at them as if they were the only two people in the world. He groaned with embarrassment, they would never let him live it down.

 

He was eighteen and still had yet to get his license, his mother or father usual picked him up from practice. When Finn finally put him down on the ground, he managed to stay on his feet. "I've got tell my mom that one of my friends is driving me home.

 

Finn nodded and got into his car, Seth noticed that it was a pretty slick design. An Audi RS4, He would  wind up driving his mother's car around. He knew his mom would have a field day with him having a friend.

 

He hadn't had many friends; he had  spent his time alone, or in the library. He spotted the jocks walking by from time to time but he was far too intimidated to even approach them.

 

He called his mother and waited for her answer, "Hi, mom." he said. "A friend is driving me home."

 

He heard his mother pause for a moment before speaking; her excitement was evident even through the phone.  "I'm so happy for your sweetie, come home safe and call me if you run into any trouble."

 

He said he would and then he hung up with a sigh. Finn looked at him  "My mom can get a little over enthusiastic about these things."

 

Smirking Finn got behind the wheel, Seth followed after him and got into the passenger. They drove off out of the parking lot towards the highway.

 

The next day Seth arrived at school, sore all over. He hadn't had a good night sleep and he wasn't looking forward to practice at all. The day went by at a slow pace; he was dreading practice, knowing he wouldn't even be able to keep up with anyone. When his last class finally ended, he made his way towards the locker room, when he arrived at the locker room, still groggy from sleep. He saw that most of the team was already dressed.

 

He  got dressed into his uniform; he hadn't even had time to eat breakfast. He had a big lunch; he had sat with Christian and Jack. His stomach was full to bursting; he didn't even think he could run at all. He was still shaking when Finn came up to him with a water bottle. He handed it to him.

 

Seth glanced down at it ; he wasn't sure what to make of it.

 

"It'll make you feel better, I promise." Finn said with grin, "It's a protein shake."

 

Seth drank it down , he was thirsty.

 

After he had finished and wiped his mouth, he looked with surprise that Finn was laughing.  His hands clutched over his stomach as he leaned against the wall laughing.

 

Seth looked at him , what the hell? He thought. "What's so funny?" he asked.

 

Finn stopped laughing and got up, "I put laxatives in there, you’re going to have a shitty time." he grinned at him.

 

As Seth raced to the bathroom, he heard Finn's laughter behind him. He ran towards the stall and sat down. He felt his stomach churning, as he endured the most painful shit of his life.


	4. Revenge

Seth sat on the toilet straining, he had no idea how long he had been sitting here. He was sweaty all over his body, his lips were dry, and he licked them to add moisture. He wasn't sure if anyone was around, practice had already started. 

He groaned and buried his face in his hands; he should have known that no good would come of this. He should have never joined the team in the first place; he was foolish to think that he would belong here. He had no place among all these athletes; he was planning on quitting as soon as he was able. Breathing hard, he was leaning against the stall. How long had it been? Hours, he wasn't sure, he was unsteady on his feet as he wiped and then pulled up his pants. He flushed and stumbled out the stall. To his surprise he found Ryan standing right outside looking at him. 

"What are you doing here?" Seth asked curiously. "Shouldn't you be at practice?" 

Ryan grinned "Practice is over; you've been in there for an hour and a half. I told the coach what happened." 

Seth walked over the sink, and washed his hands. He was going to punch Finn the next time he saw him. He turned back to Ryan grinning still. "I can't do this anymore, I'm quitting the team." 

Ryan frowned at him "Really, you're just throwing in the towel just like that? It was a joke; we do it to all the new timers." 

Seth pushed past him on the way to his locker. He quickly changed out of his uniform into his regular clothes. 

Ryan stood in front of him smiling "If you want to get back at Finn, I've got the perfect idea. We're going to pull a prank on him." 

Seth looked up "What are we going to do?" he asked uncertain.

Ryan smirked at him, and patted him on the head lightly. "Don't worry I have it covered." 

He turned before he reached the door, "Just think about it okay, and don’t do something you'll regret. Anyway if you leave, who will see how awesome I am" 

Seth rolled his eyes as Ryan walked out of the locker room.

The next day, when Seth arrived for practice, he found the locker room was empty. Out of the corner, he spotted Ryan step out, he wasn't wearing a shirt and his fly was down. 

Seth stared in shock, his pulse started to race. He hadn't really taken that much notice of Ryan. His heart was hammering in his chest nonstop. He certain was a sight to behold. His hair was dark brown, swept back on his head. He had some minor facial hair all along his chin and upper lip. He was remarkably well-built, he started to sweat a bit, a drop ran down his face. 

Noticing his staring, Ryan grinned, "its okay to look, just don't touch" he winked at him before going towards the end of the locker room.

Seth followed him to find a pile of water balloons; Ryan picked one up and gave it to him. "Now, when Finn comes through the door we're going to hit him with these." 

"What's in these?" he asked curiously. 

Ryan grinned "Nothing much, just my piss. I had to drink a lot of damn water, just make sure it hits the target." 

Ryan stood near the door; Seth took his position near the other side. They both waited patiently for Finn to come through the door. The door opened and Finn walked in, Seth threw the first water balloon at him. 

 The balloon hit him full in the face, sputtering. Finn opened his mouth to speak before he could say anything, Ryan tossed another balloon at him, it flew towards his face again and into his open mouth. 

Finn coughed and sputtered again, he fell down on his knees. After all the balloons were thrown, Ryan smiled down at Seth, "See, that's how you fuck with someone." 

Finn glared at the both of them "What the fuck? Look what you did I'm going to smell like piss for weeks." 

Ryan started to laugh at him, Seth tried to contain his laughter but then he started laughing too.

He could see that Finn tried to remain angry but the laughter was too infectious. He laughed along with them. He shrugged "Yeah, I guess I deserve it." 

They laughed again, his other team members walked in the locker room, they bore various expressions of disgust on their faces. 

Jack walked over to Seth "What happened?" he asked. 

Before he could open his mouth, Ryan said "We threw piss filled water balloons at Finn." he walked off still laughing.

Christian walked up grinning "Really?" 

Seth nodded; he could hardly keep from laughing again. Finn walked off towards the showers still soaking from head to toe.   
  
They all went out for practice; it was a while before Finn joined them. To Seth's surprise, he didn't even seem angry. He walked up towards Seth, "Look, I'm sorry about before. I guess we're even now. It was pretty fun though." 

"Let's just be friends, I don't want any hostility between us." Seth nodded and smiled at him. He was glad to put this all behind him. 

After practice, he walked back into the locker room exhausted from practice; he spotted Ryan walking up to him. "We're throwing a pasta party at my house; my parents are out of town. You want to come? The whole team going to be there”

Seth nodded eagerly, he was grateful for an opportunity to hang out with the team. 

Ryan asked for his phone, "I'll text you the location and everything." He handed his phone back to him and then left. 

Seth was glad for reason to be out on Friday night, he had spent most of his Fridays at home on his own. He was excited at the prospect at hanging out with friends. Well, he liked to consider his team mates friends. 

He concentrated on getting ready for the nights events. He put on a t-shirt and some jeans. He pulled his coat over his clothes. He caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror. He never really paid too much attention towards his outward appearance, but tonight was different. He was determined to impress Jack. 

He hadn't seen much of him lately, they would say hi but they barely had time for conversation anymore. Practice had become more intense, and as result they really ever spoke anymore. After he took several minor adjustments with his hair to make it stands out more. He threw on some cologne; he was still slightly embarrassed that he still had to get his mom to drive him around. 

He got into the passenger seat, he didn't say anything. He was focused on making a good first impression. When they pulled up to the party, the music was already pulsing. He could feel it from here. He said his goodbyes to his mom, and then walked in the direction of the house. To his surprise, he didn't see anyone in the house through the windows. 

He knocked on the door, but no one answered. He knocked again, but again no one answered. When he knocked the third time, the door swung open to reveal Jack dripping wet, wearing swim trunks. Seth started at him open mouthed, he already felt his pants feeling uncomfortably tight. 

His eyes were focused only Jack that he missed part of what he said. "What?" he said "I didn't hear you" 

Jack grinned causing his pace to quicken, "Get in here" he grabbed him by the hand and pulled him inside. Leading him through the house until they reached the back, Seth looked out and saw all his team mates were out in the pool. Jack opened the door and they both stepped outside. Water splashed from all sides.

 He watched as Christian and Ryan gripped Finn by the legs and hoisted him up between their shoulders and tossed him into the pool. Nearby he turned to see Jack grinning, "What do you think?"

"It's wonderful" he said quietly, he couldn't think of anything else to say, he was just happy to spend as much time with Jack as he could. Suddenly without warning he was gripped on either side by Ryan and Christian. They were both laughing as they moved towards the pool, Seth struggled against their grip. He yelled in protest they ignored him and tossed him into the pool. 

When his body hit the water, he already could feel the cold. He tried to move around in the water but he had never learned how to swim. He failed to gain any ground, he was going to drown. He struggled to push his head above the surface. He yelled and then went back down in the water. He saw movement above him, something dropped near him. He gripped it with both hands as he was pulled from the water. 

His vision was still blurry, he didn't what was what. The whole place spun, he felt pressure on his chest. It grew more urgent, then he coughed up some water. He coughed again, and looked to find them all looking down on him. Embarrassed, he sat up and looked around, Jack stood nearby cradling him. "Are you alright?" he asked. 

Seth nodded, they all breathed a sigh of relief, and Ryan came up to him apologetic. "I'm so sorry, I didn't mean- I didn't know" 

Christian nodded in agreement "We didn't know you couldn't swim man, it was dick thing to do." 

Seth shrugged "its okay, you guys didn't know."

Ryan frowned "No, it's not fucking alright, we nearly drowned you." 

Seth struggled to his feet, Ryan and Christian pulled him up. He went back inside and sat on the couch. For a moment they stayed nearby, he frowned "I don't need you guys watching me."

Jack stepped in dry and wearing a shirt, "I'll make sure he's alright." 

Ryan left the room, followed by Christian. 

Seth sighed, he was gratefully for Jack. He was glad he was wearing a shirt this time. He wouldn't have been able to take his eyes off him otherwise. Jack sat down next to him, "You alright?"

He nodded, he just wanted to sit here and enjoy the time he had with Jack. 

"I was worried, we might have lost you." Jack said. 

Seth nodded "Yeah, you were cutting it pretty close there."

Jack grinned and playfully punched him on the shoulder. "Don't joke about shit like that, you almost died."

He brushed Jack's hand from his shoulder still smiling at him. He flinched at the brief contact, it was like an electric shock. His nerves were alive, he was shaking. 

"Hey" Jack said looking at him "Are you okay?" 

Jack's eyes met his, he moved closer to Jack. He wasn't sure his heart had ever pounded so fast in his life. He had never been this close to him, he noticed he had  a small scar on his neck. 

For a fleeting moment he wondered how he got. He wanted to know everything about the guy sitting down in front of him. And more than anything he wanted to feel his lips against his. 

Just as the longing became unbearable, his lips met Jack's. The warmth of his mouth sent a current running through his body. 

 


	5. Unrequited

Seth wasn't sure how Jack was going to react, he sat there waiting for him to respond. Jack stared at him for a moment before saying "You know I tried the whole guy on guy thing it's just not for me, and I have girlfriend." 

He looked up at him in surprise, he had fooled around with guys before? What did that mean exactly? Was he into him or not? Then the rest of what he said made an impact, "You have a girlfriend?" 

Jack nodded, he didn't even look angry as he had expected him to be. He just looked sad, like he felt sorry for him. "Yeah, I'm sorry." Seth frowned and walked off in the other direction. He was stupid for even coming here. He should have know this would happen, tears were streaming down his face as he ran towards the front door outside. He sat down on the porch, the tears wouldn't stop coming. He closed his eyes to everything else that happened. He dialed his mother on the phone, keeping his voice steady he said that he wanted  to picked up. 

He didn't say anything when he got into the car, he was silent all the way home. He didn't look back once to see what he left behind. He fell onto his bed and went to sleep right away. He tossed and turned, and stayed awake the whole night. When he walked into locker room, he made sure that he was early. He didn't want to have to face Jack. 

He noticed that Ryan was sitting nearby, staring off into space. He nodded to Ryan and gave him a small smile. Ryan got up and walked past him, towards his locker. Curious he wondered what was up with him. "What's wrong?" he asked.  
  


Ryan turned to face him, annoyed. "I don't have time for your bullshit. I've got my own problems to deal with."

He walked after Ryan curious, "I don't think you understand, what I have to deal with." Ryan said.

"There are some scouts coming, and I have to be my best." he pushed past him towards his locker.

Seth went to his own locker, to his surprise he found Finn standing nearby grinning at him. He turned away from him. 

"Something wrong?" Finn asked. 

He leaned forward towards Finn, "I have to tell you something but will you promise to keep it a secret."

Finn smiled "Of course." 

Leaning forward he whispered "I kissed Jack." 

Finn eyes widened briefly, "Well, then what?" 

He sighed "He said he wasn't into guys, he took it better than I expected."

Finn nodded "So now you're avoiding him right?"

He was shaking now, he looked past Finn towards the door. To see Jack walk inside, he lowered himself down to the floor, pulling Finn after him. 

Finn grinned down at him "Why are we doing down here?" 

"We don't want him to see us." 

"Why are we whispering?" Jack walked by and Seth got to his feet followed by Finn. 

"Okay he's gone." 

Finn looked at him curiously, "Don't worry about it, I'm sure it's fine."

Seth watched as Finn walked off, a little sad at his departure. He got ready for practice, he concentrated on running. He found it a bit easier than he had before, he started to feel dizzy, he stumbled a bit and continued to run. He was able to catch his breath this time around. After practice, he walked outside of the locker room. He saw Finn chatting with a very attractive girl. 

Finn winked at him and turned back towards the girl smiling. He shrugged and continued to walk down the hallway. He stopped dead in his tracks, when he saw it. His jaw dropped in surprise as he watched Jack kissing another girl passionately on the lips. His hands were around her waist, he was kissing all over her. 

He let out a small gasp and ran off, the tears were coming faster than he could wipe them away. Running as fast as he could, he ran outside towards the back of the school. The tears were coming faster, streaming down his face. He sank to the ground and buried his face in his hands. He was shaking everywhere. He bit back the scream in the back of his throat, and closed his eyes to the world. 

To his surprise, he heard a voice from behind him. "Seth?" he turned around tears still streaming down his face. He saw Finn staring at him, "What's wrong?" 

He shook his head, "I don't want to talk about it." 

Finn nodded "Come with me, I'll buy you something to eat." He beckoned him to come over. Seth followed dumbly after him. When they reached Finn's car, he opened the door and slumped into his seat. 

Finn turned to look over at him to make sure he was secure in his seat and then he drove off. When they arrived, Seth realized that they were at a Italian restaurant. Finn grinned at him "I hope you like Italian."

Seth said nothing and got out of the car, Finn lead him to the table close to the window. After they ordered, Finn turned back to him completely serious. "I want to talk to you about something, I know how you feel."

Seth turned away bitterly "You don't know how I feel, how could you?"

Finn frowned "I know how it feels to like someone, to like them so much and want them to like you back but they don't."

Seth turned to look at him, he stared at him confused. He wasn't sure where he was going with this, 

Finn sighed "I like you Seth, more than a friend. I can't stand to see you like this."

His mouth dropped open in surprise "What? You like me but-bu"

Finn smiled "That girl? She wasn't important, I've fooled around with her before."

He was still unsure "But, you like me why?"

Finn's grin grew wider "Why? I think your pretty cute, isn't that enough. I think you deserve someone who cares about you."

"Are you-" he couldn't finish what he was going to say. 

"Gay? No, I'm bisexual" Finn said. 

"What?" Seth said still confused, he had heard the term before but he wasn't familiar with it's meaning.

"It means I like girls and guys, and I like you." Finn said smiling. He reached out wrapped his hand around his. 

Seth blushed and smiled back, he wasn't sure how to respond. He hadn't been aware of such a thing. "When did you start to like me?" 

Finn grinned "Since I saw you, of course I didn't know you were gay until you told me that you were."

Seth nodded "Have you been with guys before?"

Finn smiled "You mean, have I had sex with a guy before? No, but it's only because I haven't found the right guy. Back in my old school, I had plenty of crushes before but I had never acted on them. When I did finally find a guy that was willing to be with me, he wanted me to be all secretive about it. He didn't want the school to know." 

"Of course, I kept it a secret for him. I figured that eventually he would come out and we could start dating openly."

"When my parents found us on the couch, I had a long talk with them about my sexuality and shit. I kept telling them I wasn't gay and that I was still into girls, they just didn't fucking understand."

A hint of anger flared in his eyes, as he spoke.

"At school, it was out that I was into guys,everywhere I went I had guys calling me every name in the book." 

"Even after I said I was still into girls, no one fucking believed me." He slammed his fist on the table. "All the girls avoided me like the fucking plague, I then decided that I would have an easier time if I just changed schools." 

He sighed "I decided it would be easier if I just dated girls, I would get less hell that way." 

Seth stared at him confused as the food arrived, he looked down at his spaghetti on his plate but he found that he wasn't as hungry as he previously had been, but he didn't want to be rude so he took a bite. 

"Why then? Why ask me out?"he said unable to grasp why he was going through such lengths.

"I think that you are worth the risk." Finn said smiling. 

Seth smiled back, he felt a tremor of excitement go through him. He was feeling better than he had in days. He spent the rest of his time, eating and staring back at Finn, he had never taken into account how attractive he really was. He wasn't tall or fast, he wasn't strong either but in spite or perhaps because of that Finn was into him. 

The next day, Seth felt better than he had in days. He ventured into library, admittedly he was actually stalking Jack under the pretense of actually working but he wanted an excuse. He watched him from two people down doing research on the computer. 

His brow was furrowed and his eyes were focused on what was in front of him. he was so wrapped up  in watching Jack, he didn't notice that Finn sat right down next to him until he spoke. "So, do you want to pick the place next time?" 

Seth shrugged and turned back to gazing at Jack, Finn looked at him frowning "You're still hung up on him, why?"

"What do you see in him? You want what you can't have, that's why he's so alluring to you is that it?" 

Seth frowned, he knew that was the real reason that Jack was so irresistible to him. "Maybe we can go out later."

Finn turned away, "I don't think so." he turned and faced him one last time, his eyes were full of pain and repressed tears before he walked off, leaving Seth alone again.

 


	6. A Head Start

Seth sat alone in the locker room; he had never been late to practice since he had first joined the team. The coach had been even more demanding lately, as Championships were drawing nearer. He had been slowly steadily improving but he was still nowhere near being the fastest person on the team. He sighed and got ready for practice; his head was still reeling from revelations. 

Finn had confessed that he had feelings for him; he didn't know how to feel about that. On one hand, it felt nice that he was thought to be attractive to someone. On the other hand, he wasn't sure how he felt towards Finn. He was good friend but he was still into Jack, regardless whether he was straight and had a girlfriend. He was still holding onto the hope that Jack was into guys, he had told him that he had tried being with guy before. That was his one hope and he clung to it, he couldn't be with Finn if there was the slightest chance that he could be with Jack. 

 A noise from behind him made him jump; he turned to find Ryan standing nearby. "Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you" Ryan said grinning. 

Seth sighed, he didn't have time for Ryan and his usually cockiness. He turned away towards his locker, he wasn't looking for anything in his locker but he was determined to keep himself busy. "I see you're having trouble, maybe I could help you out." 

Seth turned and saw Ryan still staring at him "What do you mean?" he said uncertainly. 

"Well, I noticed that you're still pretty awful, with some proper training you could actually keep up with me."

Seth stared uncomprehendingly, "Are you going to help me?" 

Ryan nodded "Of course I will, I need a challenge otherwise what's the point?" 

"I'll come over and help you out, just tell me where you're house is"

Seth nodded; he couldn't very well refuse help when it was offered. Ryan was the best runner on the team, maybe he could learn a thing or two from him. 

He gave him the directions and watched as he walked away. Seth turned back to his locker to find Finn standing in front of him. 

His eyes widened in surprise, "What are you doing here?" 

Finn smirked "Well, I'm on the team so why wouldn't I be here?" 

Finn moved closer to him "So, I've been thinking a lot about the other day and I would like for you to give us a chance." he reached out and brushed his hand with his. "What do say?"

Seth shook his head, he couldn't deal with this not now. "No, I'm sorry"

Finn frowned "You're still stuck on him huh? He will never be interested in you" he stormed away out of the locker room, leaving Seth alone again. 

During practice, Seth concentrated solely on running. He didn't let anything else distract him, his eyes were fixed ahead. The company was getting further and further away, tears streamed down his face. His best was never enough; they were always going to be ahead of him. He cursed himself and pushed ahead. 

Snot poured out of his nose, his stomach was churning but he fought through the pain. He saw that they were already too far ahead. He wouldn't be able to close the gap. He tripped and fell onto the ground. He threw out his hands to catch his fall, his hands scraped the ground. He bit his lip to prevent himself from crying out. 

He tried to get up but couldn't, his vision was already blurry. He couldn't see very well, it was only after a second or two that he realized he was crying. Embarrassed, he covered his face so no one would see his tears. 

He got to his feet, he noticed Finn rushing over to see him. "Are you okay?" Concern was in his eyes; Seth looked down at his bleeding hands.

"I'm fine" he murmured, he didn't want to make a scene. He noticed the rest of the team was looking at him. He wiped his eyes and sighed as the coach came over. 

"Are you okay son?" the coach asked. 

Seth looked down at the ground; he couldn't bear to face the coach now. He had already proven how weak he was. Now everyone was watching him, he took off running in the opposite direction. His vision was blurry again, as he headed towards the school. He was so preoccupied in his thoughts that he hardly noticed the figure nearby. He slammed into the figure, causing him to fall to the ground. He was laying down facing up. He was already dizzy, he looked up to find Jack standing over him. 

Awkwardly he tried to get up and failed; Jack grabbed him and pulled him to his feet. "Are you okay man?" Seth looked up into Jack's worried gaze. He nodded; he didn't want to say anything in front of Jack. He felt like crying again, the tears threatened to come over him again. He swallowed down his hurt and looked up to face Jack.

"I think I need to go to the nurse's office." he said

"Yeah, no shit your hands look pretty fucked up." Jack said with a fierce grin. "Come on, I'll take you." 

Seth shook his head "I'm fine, I can get there myself." 

Jack smirked and walked back towards the school; Seth sighed and followed after him. 

"So why are you so late getting to practice?" he said curiously.

Jack smiled before answering "I had a little emergency I had to take care of"

"And what would that be?" 

"My girlfriend, she really couldn't keep her hands off me. I was so caught up, I lost track of time. That's why I was late to practice." 

Seth sighed and turned away, his stomach was turning. Somehow he was feeling worse than before; he sat down on a nearby bench and buried his face in his hands. 

"What is it about her?" 

Jack sat down next to him on the bench "What do you mean?"

Seth cursed to himself; he had been unaware that he had spoken out loud. 

"What do you see in her?"

Jack smiled "Oh, you mean my girlfriend. Well, we met back last year at a party and we've been together ever since. Her last boyfriend was a real douche, I helped her out. She's been through a lot."

He turned back towards Seth, "She means the world to me. Does that answer your question?" 

He got up and walked off, Seth followed after him, his insides squirmed with guilt. He followed after Jack, how could he be so selfish? Ask Jack to give up someone he cares about, he couldn't believe how could he be such an awful friend? 

He sighed and continued to walk on, when they reached the office. Jack turned to face him; "I'm sorry man, maybe if things were different..." he trailed off. He nodded and then left him standing alone. 

After getting bandages, Seth walked out of the office thinking about what Jack said to him. If things had been different, was he saying that there was hope for them being together? His heart lifted at the revelation. His thoughts then drifted back to Jack's girlfriend, how she would feel about this. 

He couldn't just hurt someone else just so he could be happy. He just couldn't do it; he walked back towards the locker room to find it nearly empty. Practice was apparently over; He changed back into his regular clothes. Leaving the locker room, he found Finn and Ryan having a discussion. 

They both looked at him, as he left the locker room. Finn walked up to him "Are you okay?" 

He nodded and turned to Ryan, "This weekend I'm free, I’ll come over then." 

He watched as Ryan took off, then he turned back to Finn. 

He looked around to make sure no one was around and then he reached up and kissed him.

Their lips met briefly, before he broke off. 

Finn stared down at him shocked "What was that for?" 

Seth sighed "I don't like feeling this way, I just need someone to get my mind off him."

Finn grinned "I think I understand, you want to forget about him."

Seth nodded "Make me forget, I want to feel alive."

Finn grabbed him lightly by the hand and led him towards the locker room. He pulled him towards the showers. Pinning him against the wall, Finn kissed him on the lips. This time it was more intense, he felt his lips against his. He closed his eyes as he felt his hands moving up and down his body. His hands traveled under his t-shirt. He moaned softly as Finn's lips trailed down his neck. 

He had never felt this aroused before, he was already hard. He slid to the ground as Finn's hands maneuvered across his body. He felt beads of sweat, pour slowly down his face. His whole body was sensitive to his touch. He felt Finn move on top of him, kissing him all across his neck. He groaned and his back arched. His shirt was lifted up over his head, his pale chest was exposed.

Finn planted slow kisses all across his navel; he stared to feel light headed. He gasped as Finn, licked the inside of his bellybutton. Not knowing what was happening he felt his body react to the sensation. 

Finn's eyes widened briefly in shock, before he got up revealing the stain on his jeans "Have you ever done this before?" he said holding back a laugh. 

He blushed "This has never happened to me before, I'm so sorry I didn't mean-" 

Finn held a hand up, "It's fine, don't worry." 

He helped him to his feet and they left the locker room together. 

The next morning, Seth was awoken by a loud buzzing. He opened his eyes, and realized it was still a little dark out. He lifted his face from his pillow and glanced at his alarm clock. It read 4:04 am; he then looked down at his phone and realized that he had received a text. He looked through his phone and saw that Ryan had texted him. 

**I'm outside, get your ass up**

He sighed and got dressed, when he felt he was ready. He walked downstairs and opened the door, to find Ryan standing there looking impatient. 

"What the hell, why so damn early, what the fuck" 

Ryan grinned at him "In a fine mood, today are we?

Seth pushed past him, lamenting the lost hours he could have spent sleeping. 

"Where are we going?"

Ryan took him by the hand and let him towards the car. "We're going over to my house, my parents aren't home."

Seth turned to look at him about to protest, he looked towards his house. "My parents are going to be wondering where I am"

Ryan smirked "We'll be back before they know you where gone." 

Without another word, Seth got into the passenger seat. A few minutes went by before they arrived at Ryan's house. It was pretty big, larger than his house by a lot. 

Of course, he thought. He knew he shouldn't be surprised that Ryan's family was wealthy. He had in fact noticed that they had made many generous donations to the school, but the house was just so big even in the early morning that he just had to stare. 

Ryan motioned for him to follow as they approached the house together.

Ryan entered the house and Seth followed after him, he turned on the light so he could see where exactly he was going. There were many rooms; he couldn't keep track of them all. 

He saw Ryan going into one of the rooms; he followed closely until he was able to see the room better. They stood in a large kitchen; he noticed that Ryan was busy at the counter. He stood near the door until Ryan walked up to him and handed him a cup. 

"What's this?" he said uncertainly.

Ryan nodded at the cup, "Just drink it, it'll help."

Seth downed the cup in one gulp, when he swallowed. He felt it in his throat; it was cold and tasted bland. 

"What is it?" 

Ryan patted him on the shoulder "Just a raw egg." He spun and turned for the door, laughing. 

Seth angrily chased after him, he wasn't too far ahead. Ryan pushed past the door and moved towards the front door. Seth ran after him, he didn't have much time before Ryan outran him altogether. 

When Seth stumbled through the front door, he spotted Ryan sprinting away from him across the lawn. He raced to catch up with him, his pulse racing and he was already breathing hard. He pushed himself further and further, until he saw that he was close to catching up with Ryan. 

When he was merely a few feet apart, he lunged at Ryan and grabbed him by his waist. Pulling him down towards the ground, Ryan laughed as Seth swung at him, they rolled around on the ground for a moment before Ryan pushed him off. 

Still chuckling, he extended his hand to help Seth off the ground. "Sorry, I just wanted to get you pumped up."

"That was just a warm up, the real challenge starts now." Ryan said his manner now was more serious. 

"We're going to do some exercises, it will loosen you up." 

Seth nodded and started to run, he followed Ryan's instructions to the letter. He was determined to get better and be better than he had been. 

After an hour, Ryan put up a hand to stop him. "Okay, I think we can eat something before you go back."

He followed Ryan back into his house, his legs were aching and he was almost out of breath but somehow he felt better than he had before. 

He sat down at the table and watched as Ryan took eggs out of their carton and cracked them onto the skillet after the butter had melted.

He raised an eyebrow, Ryan grinned at him. "My parents aren't around that often, most of the time I've been alone by myself. I found things to keep myself busy."

"Cooking is one of them?" 

Ryan nodded, "How do you like you're eggs?"

"Scrambled, so it's just you? You don't have any brothers or sisters."

Ryan gave him a small smile as he scrambled the eggs, "I have two older brothers, one is in college and the other is in medical school."

"Well that must be nice having brothers."

Ryan's eyes darkened, he scowled and turned away. "Yeah, having two perfect brothers who accel in everything. That must be fucking perfect, your parents always comparing you to them." 

"What?" he stared up at him shocked. 

Ryan snorted "Yeah, I've got to haul ass in school. Make sure I'm great, if I'm not the best than I'm nothing. They don't give a shit about what I do, everything I do is so small compared to them."

Seth looked away, he couldn't imagine living like that; his parents hadn't exactly been open about him being gay at first but eventually they had accepted him. 

"I'm sorry" he said quietly.

"Don't be." Ryan said, he handed him a plate full of eggs and bacon. 

"Thanks." he said as he accepted it from him. 

Ryan nodded and went back to the stove, when he made his own breakfast he sat down in front of Seth. His smile had returned, "Eat, I didn't make that so you could stare at it." 

Seth took a bite, it was good better than anything he had ever made. "You did a good job, I can't seem to make anything."

Ryan grinned "I could give you a few pointers, anyway eat up you've got to get back home. It's almost light out."

Seth's eyes widened briefly as he saw the sky getting lighter outside. He ate the rest of his breakfast and placed it in the sink. 

Ryan put his plate in the sink and then headed out of the kitchen towards the front door. The car ride back was pretty quiet. When Ryan stopped the car in front of his house, Seth moved to get out but Ryan put a hand on his arm. 

"Do you want me to train you?" he asked, his gazed was focused on him.

Seth nodded, "Yes, I need help if I'm every going to be in shape for the championship."

Ryan grinned "I'll see you next week then." He patted him on the shoulder as he left the car. 

Seth watched as Ryan drove back into the direction of his house. He sighed and went back inside and walked upstairs to his bedroom and collapsed on his bed. 


	7. Heart Broken

 

Seth walked into the cafeteria, looking around for his usual table. To his surprise he found the usual table empty. He took a seat and waited for Christian and Jack to come. He decided that he would get his food and wait until they showed up. He stood on line and waited to be up, he got his food and then rushed towards his usual table and sat down. 

 

Christian and Jack were absent for some reason, when he looked up again. He saw them both walking towards him. They were unusually silent, Seth took a bite of his sandwich as they sat down. 

 

When Seth looked up, his mouth dropped open. He couldn't help but stare at Jack in shock, his eyes were red and he looked like he hadn't slept in days. His hair was in complete disarray, his clothes were ruffled and wrinkled. He hadn't put any effort in his outward appearance  at all. Confused, Seth turned towards Christian in confusion. "What happened?" he said. 

 

Christian sighed, "His girlfriend broke up with him." 

 

Seth tried to contain his growing excitement, he swallowed and fought down his excitement.

 

"How did this happen?" He was afraid of what the answer would be,he didn't have anything to do with this surely? He didn't want to think he had anything to do with this. 

 

Christian shook his head, and looked over at Jack with his head on the table. "I don't know, he didn't tell me. He's in a bad place right now, he needs our support." 

 

Seth nodded he turned to Jack and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. He watched as Jack shrugged off his hand and turned away from him. Nothing he did could comfort his friend, it made him sad that he wasn't able to do anything to help. 

 

Christian nodded towards him "Just leave him be when he's ready to talk he will." 

 

Seth sighed and went back to his lunch, he found that he had lost his appetite. He picked at his food before pushing it away from him. Christian got up and sat near him,

 

"He's had it rough and I've stood with him through the worst and best times. He's my best friend, and he hasn't even told me what's bothering him." 

 

Seth turned and looked at Christian, he had never looked at Christian much. He had been to swept up in Jack's good looks and charm, but for the first time he realized how handsome Christian really was. 

 

His hair was messy in a tangle, and he had small hairs along the edge of his sharp jaw and chin. His eyes were light brown and fully of concern for Jack. 

 

Christian got up and Seth followed, he turned to see that Jack was already ahead of them. He wanted to go after him but Christian put a hand on his shoulder.

 

"It's best if you let him figure things out on his own."

 

It pained him not to go to Jack, he wanted to comfort him and tell him that it wasn't the end of the world, he wanted to tell him that he was worth something and if his girlfriend could see it then it was his loss. 

 

"You know we were always pretty close, even as kids. We were inseparable, we hung out practically all the time." 

 

He hesitated "There was a time, it was a few years ago..." he trailed off uncertainly. 

 

Seth turned to look at him "What?" he wasn't sure what he was going with this. 

 

"We were pretty hammered, and very horny and we kind of hooked up." Christian's eyes were on the ground.

 

Seth stared at him puzzled "Why are you telling me this?" 

 

Christian looked up from the ground, his cheeks flushed with embarrassment . "I've seen the way you look at him. You like him don't you?" 

 

Seth swallowed, he hadn't known that how he had looked when he was looking at Jack. There was no use in lying to Christian. "Yes, I do like him a lot." 

 

Christian grinned "Well, I wish you good luck with that, I hope he finds happiness whoever he's with" He clapped Seth on the back and walked off. 

 

Afterward he went to practice in daze, he was leaning on the wall heavily. He didn't even feel like running at all. He had gotten better at it, that much was clear, Ryan was a good trainer that was true. 

 

When he arrived in the locker room to find it empty with the exception of a few people. He sat on the bench and changed into his running clothes. He spotted Jack sitting by himself with his head in his hands.

 

Seth reached out uncertainly and touched his shoulder, Jack looked up at him, his eyes were dry and red rimmed. "Are you okay?" he asked.

 

Jack sighed "What do you think? My girlfriend dumped me and I haven't got a clue why she did."

 

Seth smiled "Well, you'll meet other people. It's not the end of the world you know." 

 

His smile faded when he saw that Jack was not smiling at him and he walked off away from him. His eyes were on Jack's retreating back before he felt strong hands behind him. 

 

He turned to see Finn smiling at him, "How are you today?" 

 

Seth shrugged "I really don't know how I feel, I should feel bad but I don't."

 

Finn nodded "It doesn't matter what you think about it, you should be more sensitive. Going through a break up is not an easy thing." 

 

Seth sighed "I'll try and be more sensitive." 

 

As it turned out the coach wasn't in and Ryan had to take over, he handed the leadership role quite easily. 

 

As Seth started to warm up with the other guys, he noticed that Jack was sitting by himself alone. He wasn't even running at all. He was wondering when someone would notice him sitting there. He looked around and saw that the rest of the team was staring at him as well. 

 

Ryan ran over to were Jack was sitting, Seth stopped running and moved closer to hear better.

 

Ryan stopped short of Jack and looked down on him. "What are you doing? Get up and start running your holding the team up."

 

Jack looked back at him, and shook his head. "You think I really give fuck? I don't care about this team."

 

Ryan smirked "Well, then leave we don't need you anyway" 

 

Jack got up slowly and turned away from him, he took a few steps forward and then without warning he turned around and punched Ryan straight in the face. 

 

Ryan stumbled back and fell to the ground, it took him a few seconds before he registered what happened. He got up slowly and dusted himself off. Blood was dripping down from one nostril, he rubbed his nose gingerly and then grinned. "Is that the best you got? You can't punch for shit." 

 

With wild yell, Jack jumped forward and tackled Ryan to the ground. He swung and punched wildly, Ryan took a few hits and then returned with a few of his own. They rolled around on the track, Ryan got to his feet and blocked some of Jacks punches before returning with a few punches of his own. 

 

He swung left and then right and then left again, only this time he pulled back his punch at the last second and then raised his foot and kicked Jack straight in the stomach. 

 

Jack fell down to the ground, he was covered in minor scrapes and Ryan's blood.

 

Ryan stood over him,  his face stained with blood. His nose was dripping even more profusely now. Ryan pulled Jack up and shoved him forward in the direction of the nurse's office. His other hand he covered his bleeding nose. 

 

Seth watched them leave and then went back to the locker room with the rest of the team. He changed in silence and then left the locker room.  

 

The next day, when he arrived in the lockeroom, he saw that Jack was the first one there. When Jack looked up at him and smiled. He walked over to him causiously unsure at first, unexpectly Jack drew him into a hug.

 

"I'm sorry, I was such a dick yesterday. I was so angry and I took out on the wrong person." Jack muttered. 

 

Seth blushed at being this close  to Jack, he looked up and smiled "Don't worry about it." 

 

Jack laughed and then smiled down at him, Seth felt his heart skip a beat even after all this time Jack still could get this reaction out of him, He still felt shy around him.

 

"Do you want to hang out sometime?" Jack asked.

 

Seth nodded eagerly, he was happy for a chance to hang out with Jack. 

 

Jack nodded "Okay meet me at my house, we can hang out tomorrow." 

 

He had never been to Jack's house before. "Where do you live?" 

 

They exchanged numbers and Jack texted him his address. 

 

Jack smiled at him "Don't be late"  without another word Jack left him behind in the locker room.

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